Page 72 of Her Final Hours
“Oh, you’re back, are you?”
She nodded.
“See. I want to believe that, Maddie. I really do. But I think that you want me to stop hurting him. But the only way that happens is if you stop hurting me.”
“How?” she cried. “How can I stop?”
“He needs to go. No more. It just needs to be you and I.”
“Okay. He’s gone. He’s out. Happy?” she said, looking at Jake with tears in her eyes. Even Jake nodded, a pitiful sight. Then again, he’d broken multiple bones in his body. Pain could do a lot to convince a man. Maddie looked back at Tommy. “Please.”
“How about we do this? I untie you, and you take this and beat him to death. How’s that sound?”
“What?”
“You said he’s gone.”
She shook her head. “No, I meant. Just let him go. Tommy, please. We…”
“You see, I don’t believe you, Maddie. I don’t think you love me. I think it’s all words.”
“I do. I do love you.”
“Then show me. Or you know what? How about I finish him now,” he said, raising the mallet.
“No. Stop.”
Tommy lowered it. “See. See, Maddie. You care for him. That’s going to be a problem.”
“No, it won’t. I promise. Things will be different this time.”
“I don’t believe you.” He reached out and gagged her again to avoid hearing her lies. He was so tired of the lies. So tired of people stringing him along. Tommy turned back to Jake and touched the mallet to the side of his arm.
“This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you,” he said before swinging it with bone-crushing power.
The cry cut through Ray,making him sick to his stomach. Every step he took was calculated, his adrenaline-fueled senses on high alert. He couldn’t tell if Tommy had a gun withoutseeing him fully. The last thing he wanted was to be heard and have Tommy shoot his sister before he reached her.
As he neared the source of the haunting cries, his heart hammered faster, a steady rhythm echoing the moment’s urgency. Finally, he reached a partially open door, allowing a sliver of light to spill into the dimly lit room. His eyes adjusted, revealing the nightmare before him. Maddie, her eyes wide with terror, struggled against her restraints. Though beaten and battered, Jake held onto his strength, silently pleading for Tommy to stop.
Ray’s jaw clenched, his grip tightening on his weapon. This was his sister, his blood, and he wouldn’t allow her to suffer. Now or in the future. Taking measured breaths to steady his nerves, he was about to step forward and confront the monster when Tommy pulled a gun. He tapped it against his head like a lunatic.
“One shot. One shot. He’s gone. Maddie. Now, please tell me that you want him gone. If you don’t, you’re gone too. And if you are, so am I.”
Murder-suicide. It was becoming more common than ever. Parents turning on their kids before turning the gun on themselves, jealous lovers seeking vengeance before ending their pitiful lives. There was no logical reason. It was pure madness, but that was his life, career, and world — all he saw was the underbelly of society.
Tommy pulled at her gag.
Tears rolled down Maddie’s cheeks as she was pleading for him to stop this madness. But Tommy was too far gone. Ray could see it in his eyes. Even if he’d called for backup, it would have just turned into a drawn-out hostage situation ending the same way: three bullets and three lives lost.
Of course, Tommy would get what he wanted, the town’s attention, the nation’s even.
Fuck that.
He wasn’t giving him a chance.
Ray raised his gun to take the shot, hoping to clear the gap, but then Tommy would move out of the way again. Each time he tried, he could tell there was a chance it could strike Maddie or even Jake if he missed, or…
As Ray took one final step, the floorboard beneath his boot creaked.
